RDFL strikes against child marriage through Young3arous campaign  

Beirut, October 2018

RDFL, The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering, launched its digital campaign, Young3arous, that aims to put pressure on Parliament members, decision-makers, media, and society to pass  a law that sets the minimum age of marriage in Lebanon #NotBefore18 and protects girls from child marriage in addition to raising awareness to the Lebanese public about the dangers of child marriage. RDFL launched the teaser phase of its campaign through an Instagram account and Facebook page under the name of “Young 3arous” (young bride), a stunt acting as a matchmaking agency that promotes underage brides for those that are in search of a young wife.

Leveraging on the element of shock, the campaign kicked off with the fake social media  accounts to claim young girls’ availability for marriage and promote it as a service, in an attempt to demonstrate the Lebanese citizens’ sentiment around the existing situation, where this issue is left for the personal status laws who allow girls under 18 marriage and therefore act as a powerful catalyst for change, so that they are mobilized to advocate for passing RDFL’s proposed civil law, that was submitted to the parliament in March 2017, and that aims to set the minimum age of marriage in Lebanon by 18 years.

Seeing that the long-awaited elections in the country were actually a major setback to the law regarding children’s protection as it remains unsigned, RDFL took the initiative again gathering all efforts to pressure and convince the new Administration and Justice committee to discuss and approve the law.

The “Young 3arous” Instagram posts redirected individuals to the website created by RDFL, www.young3arous.com, where they landed on an under-construction message template, asking them to call the contact number for more information. Also, as part of the stunt, a  representative would answer the phone to ask and take orders for young brides. When revealed, the website sheds the light on real stories of many anonymous victims of child marriage and invites people to sign a petition requesting passing RDFL’s law by the Lebanese Parliament.

The campaign took a mere five days to immeasurably provoke the Lebanese society to take a stand against the notion behind the website. Subsequently, RDFL revealed the aim of its campaign through media and social media to eliminate marriage for those under 18 and address local issues that are happening and that many are unaware of.

The reveal further led the public to check the website again where they could learn and read the real frightening stories of the girls that were promoted for marriage at the beginning of the campaign. It further invited individuals to sign the petition to amend the law and set the minimum marriage age to 18.

Out of respect for the victims, their names and pictures were changed, but their stories are painfully real.